The U.S. National Institutes of Health had its hands full with the Rapid Acceleration of Diagnostics (RADx) program as the COVID-19 pandemic unwound, but the agency’s other work on diagnostics is bearing fruit. NIH said Aug. 31 that its collaboration with an academic research institute has led to development of a test that predicts which patients suffering from neurofibromatosis will develop cancers with metastatic potential.

PERTH, Australia – On the heels of a A$90 million (US$67.12 million) initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange, device company Trajan Group Holdings Ltd. has doubled its share price and is well poised for its next stage of global growth. Trajan makes precision consumable products, devices and solutions that used in analyzing biological samples.

Ventura Capital has led a $60 million series A investment round into consumer genetic testing company Dnanudge Ltd. It is the first major fundraising round for the London-based company, which will be used to accelerate deployment of its DNA testing service worldwide. Dnanudge is aiming to tap into the lucrative consumer DNA testing market with Dnaband, a wearable device that stores digital DNA and helps users make healthier choices by personalizing shopping behaviors. The company is also planning a service for personalized skincare shopping.

LONDON – One in seven children and young people who have COVID-19 go on to develop symptoms of Long COVID, according to the first cut of data from a large national study involving 6,804 participants ages 11 to 17 who had PCR tests between January and March this year.

LONDON – Ibex Medical Analytics Ltd. has claimed a further advance in applying artificial intelligence (AI) to the interpretation of digitized pathology slides, reporting that the first commercial system in the world using AI to detect gastric cancers has gone live. The Galen Gastric system has been deployed at the pathology lab of Maccabi Healthcare Services, one of Israel’s leading HMOs, where it is now operational alongside Ibex’s breast and prostate cancer AI systems.

PARIS – Researchers from the department of radiation oncology at the European Hospital Georges Pompidou (HEGP) and Stanford University School of Medicine have together developed a new artificial intelligence (AI) prediction tool for patients diagnosed with prostate cancer. These researchers have just published a validation of this interpretable AI model in Cancers. “It’s a question of distinguishing patients at risk of mortality from aggressive cancer that is spreading rapidly, from patients who might have far less aggressive cancer and who are not likely to die from it in under 10, 15 or even 20 years,” Jean-Emmanuel Bibault, radiotherapy oncologist at HEGP, told BioWorld.

The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Becton, Dickinson & Co.’s (BD) Veritor At-Home COVID-19 test – a rapid COVID-19 digital antigen test. The test, which is designed for home use, uses a mobile app from Los Angeles-based Scanwell Health Inc. that provides instructions on how to collect and transfer the nasal swab sample to the test stick. The smartphone camera is then used to capture, analyze and interpret results within 15 minutes. BD said it will initially be rolled out to businesses, schools and governments looking to provide a self-testing option.

Smart Meter LLC has launched its Iglucose blood glucose monitoring system for managing gestational diabetes. According to the CDC, every year, 2% to 10% of, or 700,000, pregnancies in the U.S. are affected by gestational diabetes, with incidences increasing worldwide. Usually tested around week 24 of pregnancy, gestational diabetes can cause severe complications in women including preeclampsia, hypoglycemia and babies born large for gestational age.